Stonewall: Millions witness homophobic bullying at work

People across many occupations are too afraid to say they’re gay, according to a study which shows homophobia remains a big problem in the workplace.

In the past five years, 2.4million people of working age have witnessed verbal homophobic bullying at work with 800,000 people seeing physical attacks.

Stonewall’s figures were revealed just days after a former Premier League footballer’s decision to come out led to calls for greater tolerance.

Posters produced by the campaign group will appear on buses in major cities and 4,000 adverts will be placed on the London Underground. They feature lesbian, gay and bisexual workers from various careers and professions, including construction workers, footballers, priests, police officers and firefighters.

Stonewall’s Laura Doughty said that while gay and lesbian people can now marry, attitudes in the workplace have often not caught up with advances in the law.

‘No one should be under any illusion that it’s mission accomplished,’ she added. ‘In workplaces right across the country, gay people still don’t feel able to be themselves.’

Stonewall found a quarter of lesbian, gay and bisexual workers have not revealed their sexual orientation to colleagues and one in eight would not feel confident reporting homophobic abuse.